The 13 Best Movie Posters Of 2013

Kirsten Acuna

Saturday

Dec 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMDec 28, 2013 at 10:37 AM

While we've been talking a lot about the best and worst movies of the year, we haven't discussed the ads used to promote them.

Millions of dollars are spent on ad campaigns to get us into theater seats. While most posters are forgettable, here are the ones that went above and beyond to break the mold and capture our attention this year.

1. "Spring Breakers"

There was the typical girls-in-bikinis ad for this movie. Then there was this trippy psychedelic one. Know who your audience is and make the poster feel like an all-out rager.

2. "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"

While there were promotional posters highlighting the entire team in New York City, this poster highlighting Ron Burgundy's instantaneously recognizable mustache was genius. Outside Madison Square Garden in NYC there was a giant ad up with a 3D mustache for added effect.

3. "Side Effects"

How do you market a psychological thriller starring Jude Law and Rooney Mara? Make the entire poster look like a subscription. It's not perfect — we may have checked off all the actor's names and would have substituted something else for expiration date since Feb. 8 was the film's release date — but it's still cool.

4. "A Good Day to Die Hard"

You may not have cared for the fifth installment of the film, but you can't go wrong with the film's poster.

Plain and simple. The iconic phrase from the original "Die Hard" paired with the actor famous for saying it. What else do you need to know from this poster to know what movie we're talking about?

5. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

Later advertisements focused on individual characters and the fire element in the title of the movie, but the first poster for the "Hunger Games" sequel was a classic retro throwback. Fans of the novel and films will notice the subtle hint of the cloud in the background shaped like a mockingjay — the symbol of the rebellion in the novels against a tyrannical government. In a series about an uprising — it's more than kid-killing, that's why it's non-existent in the second book for the most part — this poster sheds light (literally) on the one sign of hope for the people (Katniss).

6. "The Heat"

You've probably seen these posters for the Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy comedy; however, we prefer this retro action-packed look much more.

7. "Blue is the Warmest Color"

Sometimes the best way you can advertise a movie is by using the negative space to fill in the blanks.

8. "The Wolverine"

Instead of slapping another image of Hugh Jackman onto a one-sheet, Marvel and 20th Century Fox had gorgeous Japanese-inspired illustrations done to promote the film.

9. "Godzilla"

In an effort to not show the monster, Warner Bros.' first teaser poster shown at San Diego Comic Con for the reboot showed a path of destruction outlined as the big bad Godzilla. Very clever.

10. "X-Men: Days Of Future Past"

What better way to showcase that this movie will have both new and old actors? Combine both of their faces into one on the poster, torn apart by the iconic "X."

11. "Escape from Tomorrow"

Not only does this poster for the guerrilla project made inside Disney World use contrasting yellow and red colors, but it also shows two of the most contrasting concepts: Mickey Mouse's hand and blood. A character symbolic with the happiest place on Earth drenched in violence.

12. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

If a poster can get you to turn your head to look at the world from a different perspective, then it's doing its job. Bravo.

13. "Gravity"

Warner Bros. delivered not one, but two gorgeous posters for Alfonso Cuaron's space trip. Both posters have the same effect in different ways. The simple phrase "Don't let go" and an image of someone in a spacesuit floating hopelessly away from you sets up a perfect juxtaposition to gain viewer interest. Both tell us one thing while showing the complete opposite.

In the first poster (above) we feel that exact moment when the astronaut breaks away. You're right there with them, frozen for a moment in time. The second does it simply on a vast black landscape that serves as the unknown abyss of space. We have no idea where they're going, but we know it must be bad since we're told we shouldn't let go.What was your favorite movie poster this year? Did we leave it off the list?